Türkiye collected 10.2M tons of cow milk in 2023

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - Türkiye collected 10.2 million tons of cow milk in 2023, the country's statistical authority announced on Wednesday.

Cow milk production rose 4.8% year-on-year last January-December, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat).

In the 12-month period, 1.5 million tons of drinking milk was produced, up 1.5% on an annual basis.

Data also showed that cheese production from cow's milk was up 9.7% on a yearly basis to 771,067 tons.

Türkiye also produced 1.2 million tons of yogurt, almost 829,548 tons of ayran – a salty yogurt drink – and 87,060 tons of butter.

- Dairy trade

In the same period, Türkiye exported dairy products worth $390.6 million, down 36.06% on an annual basis, according to National Milk Council data.

Meanwhile, the country's dairy imports jumped 56.2% to $130.7 million.

Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, and the US were the top destinations for exports of Turkish dairy products.